Bloom and Scatter
by VeryBerry96
Summary: Hospitalised after Aoba uses Scrap on him, Mizuki has been asked to keep a young blind and mute man named Sei company. At first he's uncomfortable but after some time the two become close friends...and soon maybe more. Based from the drawing by shinkamilyn-sakonma on Tumblr.
1. Chapter 1 - Name

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I blame tumblr for this entirely. The idea for this fic is entirely based off of amazing drawing by shinkamilyn-sakonma on tumblr. Please please **_**pleeeeease **_**check them out. I would link straight to the tumblr blog but this website doesn't let you put links in actual fic chapters. There is a link to the blog however on my profile.**

**The chapters of this fic won't be very long but they will hopefully be very cute. There should be 7 chapters and I hope you enjoy them! Please review!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own DRAMAtical Murder. If I did Mizuki would be in it a looooot more.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 1 - Name<strong>

Mizuki sighed under his breath. He felt rather useless sitting here staring at a man he didn't know and who couldn't even see him. He glanced over his shoulder and wondered for a moment if he could escape back to his hospital room, but he quickly talked himself out of that idea. Not only had the nurse already told this man that he had a visitor but Mizuki had nothing better to do himself. It got pretty lonely being stuck in a hospital bed all alone and the company of a mute, blind stranger was better than no company at all.

Mizuki had been hospitalised after his run in with Morphine. He didn't remember too much about it, but he knew Aoba had tried to help him and whatever he had done hadn't had the desired effect. He didn't blame Aoba at all though; he knew that he'd been trying his best to help him. Aoba had been to visit him but hadn't been able to come that often, having been busy at work and with his friends. Mizuki completely understood, and also suspected that Aoba would probably feel guilty since it was due to him that Mizuki was in hospital, and seeing him was probably making him feel worse. Mizuki didn't want that so he was actually glad Aoba had come to see him less often.

The man sitting up in bed in front of him had shoulder length black hair and, from what he could see, rather feminine features. In fact if the nurse hadn't told him he wouldn't have been 100% sure if he was a man or woman. He was wearing the regulation hospital gown and had strips of cloth wrapped around his head covering his eyes. According to the nurse who had brought Mizuki in they didn't know his name and since he couldn't speak he couldn't tell them. He'd seemed unresponsive to any coaxing from the doctors to try and communicate, so they'd thought maybe someone close to his own age would have more luck. Because of this they had asked Mizuki to keep him company.

Mizuki took a deep breath and swallowed hard. "Um…well…" he started, not getting any reaction from the young man in the bed. "I'll be staying in this hospital for a while. Hope we'll get along."

A flicker of a smile seemed to pass over the young man's face but Mizuki might have imagined it.

"I'm Mizuki by the way," he introduced himself. "What's your name?"

When silence hung in the air he mentally slapped himself. 'Great job self,' he thought. 'You just asked a mute person to tell you their name…' He looked away from the young man in embarrassment even though he couldn't see him. 'I'm stupid-'

His thoughts were cut off suddenly when he felt something lift up his hand. He quickly looked over to see the young man had picked up his right hand and was tracing something on his palm with his finger. Mizuki realised that he was tracing letters and leaned forward slightly in concentration.

"S…e…i," Mizuki spelt out. "Sei?"

The young man smiled and nodded before starting to spell more things out, taking a small pause in between words.

"T…h…a…n…k...…y…o…u…...f…o…r…...c…o…m…i…n…g…...t…o…...s…e…e…...m…e," Mizuki said quietly before smiling and looking up from his hand to Mizuki. "It's no problem. Believe me, you're doing me a favour. I was bored out of my mind in that hospital room. So hopefully we can keep each other company while we're here."

Mizuki nodded and smiled again which made Mizuki grin even more. Sei had a really nice smile.

"If you like I could bring books or something to read to you if you'd like?" Mizuki offered. When he saw Sei hesitate he quickly shook his head. "I mean, I don't have to. Sorry if that sounded really patronising. I didn't mean it too…I just thought you might be bored in here by yourself…"

Sei grinned before starting to trace again.

"M…i…z…u…k…i…...i…s…...s…i…l…l…y," Mizuki blushed slightly as Sei's shoulders shook as if he was laughing.

"I'm not silly…" Mizuki mumbled.

Sei went back to writing on Mizuki's hand. "I…...w…o…u…l…d…...r…e…a…l…l…y…...l…i…k…e…...i…t…...i…f…...y…o…u…...w…o…u…l…d…...r…e…a…d…...t…o…...m…e."

"Well, I have some books in my room. I can bring them tomorrow if you'd like?" Mizuki offered.

Sei nodded again and traced one last time. "T…h…a…n…k…...y…o…u."

And so started a daily routine of Mizuki coming to visit Sei. Sometimes he would bring books to read to him and other times he brought a notebook and pen to play little guessing games where Sei would draw something and Mizuki would have to guess what they were.

Both of them enjoyed these little games, but Mizuki couldn't help but sometimes wish he could have a proper conversation with Sei.

But of course, Sei was healing. So it wouldn't be long before Mizuki would hear his voice.

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><p><strong>AN: Hope you enjoyed this first chapter! Please review!<strong>


	2. Chapter 2 - Flower

**Chapter 2 – Flower**

Mizuki now looked forward to going through to Sei's room every day. He was only allowed to stay during visiting hours even though they were both patients in the hospital but since both of them were still bed-ridden for the most part they still needed lots of rest and medication.

It had gotten to the point where Mizuki would count Sei as one of his closest friends. He may not have known him for as long as he'd known Aoba or his fellow Dry Juice members, but when you spend every day with the same person you get to know them pretty well, even if that person couldn't speak. Mizuki now knew that Sei often turned his head as if to look out of the window even though he couldn't see. He also knew that if Sei wanted to say something he would grab onto Mizuki's finger so he could trace letters on his hand. Mizuki had started always making sure his hand was resting near Sei's so he could always grab it if he wanted to speak.

Mizuki had also noticed that Sei never had any visitors. He himself had Aoba and the gang members who came to see him, but it didn't look like Sei had anyone. Mizuki wanted to ask Sei about his family and friends but he was worried it would seem like he was sticking his nose in where it wasn't wanted.

He might not have known him for very long but Mizuki wanted to cheer Sei up. Not that he seemed upset as such, but nobody wanted to go without visitors while they were in hospital. He had noticed that there was a flower vase on a cabinet next to his bed, as there was in every room, but Sei's was always empty. This gave Mizuki an idea.

A few days previously a few of the Dry Juice members had come to see him and had given him flowers. They'd been pretty embarrassed about giving him roses but Mizuki had just laughed kindly and thanked them. The roses were all red except for one white rose right in the centre of the bunch. That night Mizuki lay in bed and stared at the flowers as he thought about Sei, a smile coming to his face as he thought out his plan.

The next day he made sure to grab the flowers from his vase before he headed over to Sei's room. He grinned as he read the tag:

"To our amazing leader.

Get well soon Mizuki-san!

Your team."

They'd also drawn a doodle of the Dry Juice logo.

"Sorry guys," he muttered, "this is for a good cause. Someone needs these more than me."

He kept smiling as he walked down the hallway to Sei's room. He knocked on the door so Sei knew it was him before he walked in. When he did he saw that once again Sei's head was turned towards the sunlight streaming through the window, although when he heard Mizuki coming through the doorway he began to smile.

"Morning Sei," Mizuki greeted him, walking straight over to the empty flower vase. As he walked past him Sei turned his head to face him and sniffed. "Oh, you noticed them? Someone left you flowers but it doesn't say who they're from."

Sei was still as Mizuki arranged the flowers before he gently took hold of Mizuki's hand. "Hm? You want to tell me something? Let's see…"

He held his hand out flat as Mizuki began tracing letters, giving his hand a small squeeze when he was finished.

"I…don't…have…anyone…who…would…send…me…flowers. I…think…they…are…yours."

Mizuki was silent for a moment before he smiled. 'Even though he's blind he immediately saw through my lie, huh?' he thought to himself.

"Heh…yeah, you're right. Sorry for lying to you Sei," Mizuki admitted as he took the flowers back out of the vase again and sat down on Sei's bed. "Before I bring them back to my room though, please keep one at least, okay?"

Sei smiled and nodded once as Mizuki picked up his hand and placed it on the bunch of flowers. Sei leaned forward slightly so his face was hovering just over the flowers. He inhaled deeply before choosing a flower from the bunch. Mizuki smiled as he saw that Sei had chosen the only white rose in the bunch. He picked up Mizuki's hand again and traced, "T…h…a…n…k…...y…o…u."

"Sei, how did you know there was a white rose in there?" Mizuki asked curiously.

Sei held up the white rose to Mizuki's face and he sniffed at it, the aroma filling his nose. Then, with a cheeky grin on his face, grabbed hold of Mizuki's hand which was holding the rest of the flowers and caused him to shove the flowers into his face. Mizuki spluttered slightly in surprise before he realised what Sei was trying to tell him.

"Oh, they smell differently. I see," he said and Sei nodded.

Mizuki plucked a few petals out of his hair and laughed softly as he stood up. "I'm going to take the flowers back to my room."

He turned to leave Sei's room but stopped when he felt someone tugging on his sleeve. He looked back to see Sei clinging onto him with a sad and lonely look on his face. Mizuki smiled before moving back and gently taking Mizuki's hand in his, squeezing it. "Hey, I'll be right back, okay? Promise."

Sei was still for a moment before he nodded slowly, squeezing Mizuki's hand back.

As Mizuki closed Sei's door behind him he peaked through the door one last time. He smiled as he did, seeing Sei holding up the white rose to his face and smiling happily.

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><p><strong>AN: Hope you enjoyed! Please review!<strong>


	3. Chapter 3 - Voice

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you to Spottkat for reviewing the last chapter! Hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own DRAMAtical Murder or the base idea for this story. Those rights go to Nitro+chiral and shinkamilyn-sakonma respectively. **

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><p><strong>Chapter 3 – Voice<strong>

Since Sei needed more rest than Mizuki did, sometimes he would fall asleep while Mizuki was still visiting. If that happened then Mizuki tended to just stay in Sei's room and sketch for a bit. Since Sei's eyes were still covered by the bandages Mizuki could only tell that Sei was asleep because his breathing deepened. He sometimes made little moaning noises in his sleep, and once or twice Mizuki had been forced to shake his friend awake for fear that he was having a nightmare.

Most of the time Mizuki drew what he was used to; tattoo designs. But more and more often he found himself sketching various pictures of Sei instead. The majority of them were pictures of Sei in his hospital bed but occasionally Mizuki let his imagination run away with him as he sketched Sei outside of the hospital in normal clothes. He liked to picture what his friend would look like normally. He always found it hard to draw his eyes however since he had never seen them.

It was during one of these times when Sei was asleep and Mizuki was quietly sketching in the corner that an unfamiliar sound broke the silence.

"Mi…zu…ki…"

"Yeah?" Mizuki replied without thinking or looking up from his pad.

In the silence that followed Mizuki suddenly realised that Sei was the only other person in the room and his head shot up, his eyes wide, and the pad and pencil fell from his hands. He jumped up and ran towards Sei, roughly gripping his shoulders and shaking him slightly.

"My name!" he cried. "Say it again! Say my name again!"

Sei was silent as always, his mouth remaining closed. Mizuki squeezed his eyes shut as he felt tears starting to form and he tightened his grip slightly on Sei's shoulders.

'Don't tell me I imagined this…' he prayed silently. 'P…please no… Not the hallucinations again…'

One of the side effects from Aoba using Scrap on Mizuki had been very vivid hallucinations which for a long time Mizuki hadn't been able to escape. The idea of not knowing the different between them and reality terrified him, but he hadn't had any in quite a while. He had thought he was getting better; that maybe soon he'd be able to leave the hospital. But now…if he'd imagined Sei speaking…

"No."

Mizuki's eyes snapped open and he stared down at Sei who was smiling slightly.

"Won't…say…i-it."

Mizuki let out a huge sigh and felt a massive weight lift off of his shoulders. He wasn't crazy. He wasn't hearing things. He started to smile as he realised what all this meant. Sei could talk again. Sure his voice was pretty hoarse but that was to be expected since he hadn't spoken in who knew how long.

"You little…!" Mizuki chuckled, releasing his grip on Sei's shoulders and sitting up on his friend's bed. "Glad you got your voice back though, Sei."

Sei smiled back before grimacing slightly. "But…h-hurts…" he managed to whisper.

Mizuki stood up off the bed quickly. "Oh, right. I'll go get the doctors, okay?" he said.

Sei nodded and smiled in thanks. Mizuki smiled back before realising that Sei wouldn't be able to see it so instead he reached out and gently squeezed his friend's hand before dashing out of the room.

Sei rolled over onto his side so he was facing the window. He wasn't able to see but he enjoyed the feeling of the sun on his face, and plus with his ear turned towards the door he could better hear when Mizuki came in as well as what he was saying. He suspected Mizuki didn't know that was why he usually faced the window and the thought of that made him smile.

He was really grateful to Mizuki for always coming to see him, especially since he didn't have to. He could tell from his tone of voice the first time he'd come to his room that he hadn't really wanted to be there, but over the days and weeks that followed he knew that Mizuki had warmed to him even though he hadn't been able to properly communicate. He smiled again as he remembered that the rose Mizuki had given him was still on the vase next to his bed.

He swallowed and grimaced again as his throat stung. 'Even though it hurts a lot…and I shouldn't try to speak…' he thought to himself before opening his mouth.

"Mi…zu…ki…" he murmured before smiling triumphantly even though nobody was there to see it.

A few seconds later Mizuki burst back into the room followed by two doctors and a nurse. Mizuki stood silently at the other side of the room as the doctors asked Sei some questions, confirming his name, age and if he knew where he was. They quickly realised that speaking was still very difficult for him so they didn't ask him too much, and fairly soon they left Mizuki and Sei alone again with strict instructions that Sei wasn't to speak too much for fear of further damage to his voice.

Mizuki grabbed the chair which normally stood next to the door and brought it over so he could sit next to Sei.

"I'm sorry that I freaked out there for a minute," Mizuki apologised, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. "I…went thought a time where I was seeing and hearing a lot of stuff that wasn't real and I got scared that it had happened again."

Sei frowned and wiggled his fingers slightly, indicated that he wanted Mizuki to take his hand. He did so and Sei squeezed it.

"S-sorry," he said quietly, guilt evident on his face.

Mizuki shook his head. "Don't apologise, you didn't know," he smiled. "I'm just happy that you can talk again. Although the doctors are right, you shouldn't push yourself to talk too much. For now you can still trace letters on my hand if you want to say anything."

Sei smiled and nodded in agreement before he bit his lip. "Mi…zu…ki."

"Yes?" Mizuki replied, expecting Sei to ask him something.

"Mizuki," Sei said again as if he was trying to get used to the taste of the name on his tongue. His face brightened slightly and he repeated it over and over. "Mizuki Mizuki Mizuki Mizuki Mizuki Mizuki Muzuki Mizuki Mizuki Mizuki!"

Mizuki blushed bright red and looked down. "Stop saying my name so often Sei! I'm not a pet!"

Sei laughed slightly and Mizuki lifted his head back up before he gasped. There was a thin trail of blood running down Sei's chin from his mouth. Mizuki quickly grabbed some tissues from the counter next to his bed and started to wipe it up.

"Idiot…" he murmured. "You spoke too much. You need to stay silent for a while, alright?"

Sei sighed but nodded and Mizuki sat back down, relieved that there was no signs of the bleeding continuing.

"Mizuki…" Sei whispered one last time.

Mizuki looked back up at Sei and was about to tell him off for speaking once more but when he saw Sei's face he stopped himself. He wasn't grinning cheekily like he was when he'd been repeating his name over and over again. Instead he was just smiling in a way Mizuki could only describe as peaceful. This made Mizuki himself smile and he once again laced his fingers with Sei's, giving them a gentle squeeze.

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><p><strong>AN: Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please review! (THAT MEANS YOU SIMONA.)<strong>


	4. Chapter 4 - Heartbeat

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you to Simona for reviewing the last chapter (You took the hint! Well done :-P). Thank you also to the guest who reviewed it anonymously.**

**Hope you enjoy this chapter! Please review!**

**This chapter is dedicated to Virus1997. **

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own DRAMAtical Murder or the original concept for this story.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 4 – Heartbeat<strong>

Since Sei and Mizuki could now have actual conversations the pair started to become closer than ever. Mizuki could still sense that Sei didn't want to talk about whatever it was that had put him in the hospital, and so he made sure never to bring it up. Mizuki didn't really mind talking about why he was there but even he wasn't too sure of the details, so it never got brought up either.

Instead, the two young men found many other things to talk about once Sei's voice was strong enough. It may have seemed like they didn't have much in common but Sei seemed to really enjoying hearing about Dry Juice as well as Mizuki's tattoo business. Mizuki had noticed that the conversations would be pretty one-sided since Sei tended to just ask questions instead of bringing up his own topics to talk about, but since Sei didn't seem to get bored or annoyed at Mizuki talking he didn't mention it.

The Dry Juice members still came to visit Mizuki, and Sei had made him promise to introduce him to his teammates at some point. Mizuki had agreed, thinking to himself that maybe he would wait until Sei could see again as the doctors had said that hopefully wouldn't be too long a wait. One day however, his teammates surprised him by visiting while Mizuki was with Sei. A nurse came in to inform him that he had visitors so Mizuki excused himself, promising Sei that he would be back later, and he went to see his teammates.

As always they were happy to see their leader, and they were glad that he seemed to be recovering well. One of them noticed that the white rose was missing from the flowers they'd given him, but when Mizuki blushed slightly and told them to drop it they did, although a few amused grins were exchanged amongst the members.

Another surprise his teammates had for him was that they'd brought his pet ermine, Shiro, to see him. Mizuki was both immensely happy to see his little furry friend and very relieved that he'd been taken care of. After checking that it was okay with the nurse on duty, Mizuki decided to keep Shiro with him for the night, asking the member who'd been taking care of him if he could come and get him the next day. With all the arrangements made the Dry Juice gang left, leaving Mizuki with Shiro and the cage they'd brought him in.

Mizuki lay on his bed playing with his pet for a few minutes. Eventually Shiro scrambled onto Mizuki's chest and curled up, very nearly falling asleep. Mizuki smiled, happy that his pet seemed relieved to see its master again. Pets weren't all that common nowadays since almost everyone had an AllMate, but even though he may not be as functional as an AllMate, Mizuki wouldn't want to give up Shiro for anyone. He maintained that real animals could be better company and better friends than people sometimes.

This made him think about Sei. Mizuki wondered if Sei had ever had a pet or an AllMate. Since they didn't really talk about Sei's life before the hospital he had no idea.

Sitting up slowly so he didn't scare Shiro, Mizuki scooped the ermine up and walked back down to Sei's room, deciding to introduce his friend to his pet. He knocked on Sei's door, waiting for him to respond before he opened it.

"Hey Sei… Catch this!" he grinned as he plopped Shiro down on Sei's lap.

"Woah!" Sei cried as Shiro started to pad about on the bed. "What is this?! It's moving!"

Mizuki chuckled as he sat down on Sei's bed. "Don't worry. It doesn't bite."

"Is this your AllMate Mizuki?" Sei asked.

Sei was very fond of teasing Mizuki, so Mizuki decided not to tell him anything. "Who knows?" he replied. "Why don't you try to find out?"

Sei gingerly held a hand out and Shiro sniffed at it before decided he liked Sei and rubbing his head on his hand and arm.

"It's soft and warm…" Sei murmured as he held his other hand out. Shiro quite happily hopped onto Sei's hand and the young man careful brought the ermine close to his chest. Sei frowned slightly. "I…I can feel its heartbeat when I hold it. Wait…so it's a real animal?!"

Mizuki smiled and nodded. "Yep! It my pet ermine. You know, like a stoat or a ferret? He's called Shiro."

Sei frown evened out and he smiled, managing to find Shiro's chin and tickling him. "Nice to meet you Shiro," he said before his smile faded slightly. "It…it's my first time ever touching a real animal," he admitted quietly.

Now it was Mizuki's turn to frown. 'His first time touching a living animal?' he thought to himself. 'Was he locked up somewhere?'

Sei swallowed heavily, keeping his head down as he rhythmically stokes Shiro who was quite happily curled up in his arms. "This… Sometimes I think it's all in my head," Sei confessed quietly. "I'm blind and everything is black so maybe…maybe I'm already dead. Maybe all I hear is my imagination. Maybe you don't really exist. Maybe we're both dead…"

Mizuki was shocked. How long had Sei been thinking this and not told anyone? Did he honestly think he had just created Mizuki in his imagination? Was that how lonely he'd been before Mizuki started to visit him?

"But…" Sei continued, cuddling Shiro close to him, "After feeling this little heartbeat just now…"

Shiro looked up at Sei and whimpered slightly, almost as if he was crying on Sei's behalf. Suddenly Mizuki couldn't take it anymore. After making sure he wouldn't squash Shiro he put his arms around Sei and held him close. He heard Sei gasp in shock but he didn't let go.

"Sei, look," Mizuki said, holding back tears. "I have a heartbeat too, and a body temperature. And you do as well! I can feel your heartbeat! We are both alive Sei, I promise."

Sei was silent for a moment before he careful dropped Shiro back onto the bed and wound his arms around Mizuki. "Yeah…I can feel your heartbeat too when you hold me," he said quietly with a smile in his voice.

Mizuki pulled away gently and placed his hands on Sei's shoulders. "You're not imagining anything Sei. This is reality. I'll be here for you until you open your eyes again and can see it for yourself. Okay?"

As Sei smiled and nodded, Shiro scrambled up onto Mizuki's shoulder. "Yes, thank you Mizuki," Sei replied with a genuine smile on his face.

Before Mizuki could let go of Sei's shoulders, Shiro ran across Mizuki's arm and touched his nose to Sei's lips. Sei jumped slightly at the unexpected contact, and Mizuki swore under his breath.

"Mizuki…did you just kiss me?" Sei asked.

"No!" Mizuki cried, his face bright red. "It was Shiro, I swear!"

"Hmm…" Sei mused before he reached out and managed to grab Mizuki's cheeks and pull at them.

"S-Shei?" he protested, his voice muffled.

"If you're telling the truth then kiss me to prove it," Sei challenged with a cheeky grin on his face.

"WHAT?!" Mizuki cried as Sei let go of his cheeks.

"You lied to me about the flowers too," Sei pointed out.

Mizuki looked down in embarrassment. "No! I mean, yes, but I'm telling the truth this time!"

Sei burst into laughter and Mizuki looked up. "You're so easy to tease, Mizuki!" he giggled.

Mizuki rolled his eyes and lightly bonked Sei on the head. "It's not nice to bully people like that Sei!"

Sei laughed lightly again as Shiro decided to curl up on his lap again. "He seems to like me," Sei said as he petted his head.

"Well he's a pretty good judge of character then," Mizuki smiled.

Sei blushed slightly which made Mizuki smile even more. He reached out to also stroke Shiro and when he did his hand brushed past Sei's. He felt his heart speed up slightly and felt Sei jump before he relaxed again and gently twisted his pinkie around Mizuki's. They both smiled as Shiro pressed his little black nose against their intertwined fingers and crooned happily.

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><p><strong>AN: Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please review!<strong>


	5. Chapter 5 - Touching

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I am so freaking scared about writing this chapter… *distressed whale noises***

**This chapter is dedicated to nipse801, angelicphantomdragon, Elfieeva and SmileRen.**

**Please review this chapter and let me know if I didn't completely screw it up cause I am really scared that I will!**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothiiiiiiiiiiiiing.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 5 – Touching<strong>

"Mizuki…can I see what you look like?"

Mizuki looked up from his drawing pad and frowned at Sei. "Um… 'see'?"

Sei nodded. "Well…if I touch you I'll be able to tell a few things. I mean…I don't even know if you have short or long hair. Not knowing…it makes me feel lonely."

Mizuki put down his pad and moved from his chair to sit on Sei's bed. He took hold of Sei's hand and laid it on top of his own head. "Sure Sei. Go ahead."

Sei smiled. "Thank you," he replied before slowly started to run his fingers through Mizuki's hair. "Oh…so you've got short hair after all."

Mizuki smiled and nodded. "Yes, and it's red."

Sei smiled gently. "Wow…and it's so soft and fluffy." His smiled grew slightly. "Seems like you take good care of your hair. Are you a bit vain Mizuki?"

Mizuki blushed slightly and grumbled. "You don't have to put it like that."

Sei laughed before moving his hands down to Mizuki's face. "Okay, let's see your eyes."

Mizuki swallowed, nervous that Sei may accidently poke his eyes. "C-careful Sei."

"I know, I know," Sei reassured him before gently tracing his thumb around Mizuki's eye. Mizuki reflexly leant into his touch and although Sei noticed he didn't say anything.

"You've got kinda narrow eyes," Sei murmured. "What colour are they?"

"Green," Mizuki replied quietly.

"Red hair and green eyes… Are you Celtic?" Sei asked.

For some reason this made Mizuki burst out laughing. "I'm not as red as that," he chuckled. "It's more like burgundy."

"Oh," Sei giggled, realising his mistake before he started to carefully explore the rest of Mizuki's face. "You've got a really straight nose," he said quietly before his hands moved slightly further down, his thumb now tracing over Mizuki's bottom lip. "And you're lips are so soft…"

Mizuki barely managed to hold in a whimper, his bottom lip being a strangely sensitive area for him. He wasn't sure if Sei noticed or not but he immediately left his lips alone and ran his fingers along his ears.

"Mizuki, you have your ears pierced?" Sei asked.

Mizuki nodded. "Yeah, just my lobes. They're cherry earrings; I always wear them."

Sei smiled before he moved to Mizuki's cheek. He frowned slightly. "Mizuki…is this a scar? It feels like one."

"It's a tattoo," Mizuki explained.

"Oh? A…circle?" Sei tried to guess from its shape.

"No, it's a teardrop," Mizuki corrected.

Sei frowned. "Why? Do you cry a lot?"

Mizuki gently took hold of Sei's hand and pulled it away from his tattoo. "When you tease me I do," he replied jokingly.

Sei frowned again. 'Is he avoiding my question?' he thought to himself.

After a few moments of silence Mizuki spoke up again. "Hey Sei, let's play a game."

'Yes, he's definitely avoiding my questions,' Sei thought before Mizuki continued.

Mizuki started to slip out of the top of his hospital robes so his torso was now exposed. "I've got a couple more tattoos on my body so why don't you try finding them?"

"Oh…alright," Sei answered, sensing that Mizuki wasn't going to talk about his teardrop tattoo today anyway. He hoped one day Mizuki would open up to him but for now he would play along with his friend.

Sei moved his hands down from Mizuki's face to his neck. "Did I find one?" Before Mizuki could answer Sei corrected himself. "No wait, that's…bandages?"

"Yes…" Mizuki said quietly, dropping his gaze. "They're covering a tattoo I would rather forget."

"Why?" Sei asked softly.

"I'll tell you some other time," Mizuki answered quickly. "Why don't you keep searching?"

'Mizuki's so secretive today…' Sei mused before moving his hands further down to Mizuki's stomach. He raised his eyebrows. "Wow Mizuki… You're really toned," he murmured as his hands traced Mizuki's abs.

Mizuki grinned. "Yeah. I've never actually told you this but I'm the leader of a Rib team."

"Rib?" Sei asked. "Is that the game that came before Rhyme?"

"That's the one," Mizuki replied. "Do you know much about Rib?"

"Not really," Sei admitted. "I know that gangs fight each other and they all have graffiti tags but that's about it."

"In all honesty that's pretty much it," Mizuki smiled. "The gangs are like families though, for the most part anyway."

"That must be really nice," Sei mused. "Having all those people looking out for you."

"Yeah it is," Mizuki agreed.

Sei's hands began to creep further up Mizuki's torso. "Alright, let's see…" Sei said. "What's that? Another tattoo?"

Mizuki began to laugh. "That's my nipple Sei! Stop! That tickles!"

"Oh, sorry," Sei giggled, not sounding sorry at all.

"You definitely did that on purpose, didn't you?" Mizuki sighed, flicked Sei lightly on the nose.

Sei scrunched his nose up but grinned, not denying Mizuki's accusation. He continued to move his hands around Mizuki's chest, murmuring as he did. "Hmm…nothing here…or here neither…"

Mizuki let his muscles relax as Sei's hand lightly traced over his exposed skin. 'Damn his hands feel good,' he thought, his eyes starting to close over. '…Maybe too good…"

All of a sudden Sei's hands stopped moving. Mizuki opened his eyes and frowned. "What's wrong Sei?"

"Your heart," Sei said quietly, his voice full of concern. "It's beating too fast. You're…you're not sick, are you Mizuki?"

Mizuki breathed a smile. Of course his heartbeat was faster than normal; Sei could blame himself for that.

Ever since Sei had confessed to Mizuki that he sometimes wondered if he was really alive or dead, Mizuki often let Sei lean on his chest and listen to his heartbeat to comfort and reassure him. As such Sei was fairly familiar with what Mizuki's regular heartbeat sounded like.

"Don't look so worried Sei," Mizuki reassured his friend. "I'm fine." He wanted to add, 'More than just fine in fact,' but he stopped himself.

Sei dipped his head, embarrassed. "Hey Mizuki…can you hold me for a bit? Sorry but…I got scared for a moment just now."

Mizuki smiled softly and gently took hold of Sei's shoulders, bringing him closer towards him until Sei's head was resting on his chest. "Come here," Mizuki murmured, gently stroking Sei's hair. "Sorry for making you worry."

Mizuki held onto Sei tightly as the smaller of the two moved his head slightly so his ear was right over Mizuki's heart. The steady beat of his heart along with the rhythmic stroking of his hair calmed Sei down and he relaxed into Mizuki's embrace.

'Mizuki's heart is still beating really fast,' Sei thought, his mind drifting to thoughts of his own weak heart. 'Mine probably wouldn't even survive at this rate. But…it sounds so alive. So reassuring…'

"Mizuki…"Sei murmured under his breath, not even realising he'd said anything out loud.

Mizuki realised that Sei wasn't aware he'd actually spoken so he just smiled and said nothing in return, continuing to stroke Sei's hair as he felt his own heartbeat slowing down. Eventually he felt Sei's entire body relax and when he looked down he chuckled slightly when he realised Sei had fallen asleep. Mizuki knew he should probably lay Sei down properly on his bed but the selfish part of him wanted him to stay in his arms the way he was.

So instead Mizuki just sat their stroking Sei's hair while his friend slept, lulled to sleep by Mizuki's strong heartbeat.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: For anyone who knows the original comics this fic is based off of I did kinda change the ending to this chapter quite a bit, but I was too embarrassed to write what actually happens. I know, I'm a weird chicken. If you want to see what actually happens then go read the comic strip on tumblr, the link to which is on my profile.<strong>

**Thank you for reading and please review!**


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